Our Christmas Miracle
by MereMcQueen314
Summary: "Was I a miracle, daddy?" "Yes, you were a miracle. Our Christmas miracle." SalQueen. Rated T for slightly graphic content and depressing angst. Yeah I know it's too early for Christmas stories, but I couldn't resist. Enjoy. And make sure tissues are nearby. You'll need them.


_**Our Christmas Miracle**_

* * *

It was early July when Sally told me that she was pregnant. We were overjoyed. She and I had been married for a little more than three years, and had been hoping to start a family. She and I had both been only children, and had both wanted a large family some day.

We'd planned it all out. a boy first. Of course, we both knew that we didn't get to pick the gender, but we hoped for a boy first. He would have red hair like mine, and green eyes like Sally's. We would decorate the nursery with red walls and linens, and the curtains, wall decorations, and window frames would be baby blue. This color scheme could be used for a boy or girl. We had even chosen names. If it was a boy, we would name him Jordan Gabriel. If it was a girl, Alexis Jeanette. Or maybe if it was a boy, we'd name HIM Alex Jonathan, and for a girl, Jordyn Gabriella. Okay, fine, we hadn't quite planned the names.

Anyway, it was early July when she told me. I've never seen Sally smiling bigger in her life. I smiled along, and kissed her. We were so excited.

And then the problems started.

Sally, all throughout the pregnancy, suffered morning sickness. Of course lots of mothers deal with this, but her's quickly became severe. She was losing weight, not gaining weight, due to all the sickness. She was pale and fatigued. She passed out a few times from dizziness. It scared me.

It had been two weeks of constant nausea and vomiting when I took her to Alice Hudson, her obstetrician. Sally is so stubborn that she wouldn't go on her own, so I practically dragged her.

Okay, that was an exaggeration. It took a lot of coaxing to get her into the car.

Well, once we'd gotten there and Sally had gotten checked out, Alice decided that Sally needed to be hospitalized and have intravenous fluids. I stayed beside Sally the whole time she was in the hospital, which was three weeks. Finally she was healthy enough to go home.

* * *

It was September twenty-second. Sally still had occasional morning sickness, but definitely not as bad. By now we had learned that Sally was carrying twins, and we were both overjoyed.

The day was very hot, considering it was in Arizona. Sally and I had gone shopping, as Sally wanted to set up the nursery before she was seven or eight months pregnant. We were out and about all day in the heat. Around six that evening, Sally got a migraine headache. I helped her to bed, and tried to get her as comfortable as possible. The lights hurt her eyes, so I made sure that they were all off and I closed the window blinds. She fell asleep to me rubbing her back and stroking her hair.

That night, I'd climbed in bed next to her an fell asleep with my arm draped over her. I woke up at three am to her screaming my name. I instantly sat upright and turned on the light switch, only to see that Sally was soaked in blood from her waist down. I'd never been more scared in my life. I held her hand while she cried and I dialed 911. Soon enough an ambulance was on the way. Sally clung to my arm and I spoke softly to her, trying to comfort her. She and I both knew that this could mean she'd miscarried.

Twenty minutes later, we were at the hospital. I paced nervously in the corridor while Alice examined Sally. Soon enough, Alice appeared in the doorway and beckoned me into the room. Sally looked up at me from her hospital bed, and there were tears in her eyes.

I took her hand and sat on the edge of the bed, looking at Alice, pleading with my eyes for her to give me good news. It wasn't good news.

Alice sighed and looked at us, trying to stay calm and not cry herself. Then she told us that Sally had miscarried.

One of the twins.

* * *

Sally was quiet and only spoke in whispers to me. It had been a month since the tragic loss, and she was still upset. I don't blame her. I was too. She felt guilty. She would sob as her heart searched for an answer as to what she'd done wrong. Nothing. She had done nothing wrong. I finally convinced her of that.

She cried a lot. I tried to comfort her, and just be there. Now was one of those times. She cried on my shoulder and I held her close. It broke my heart... The sound of her soft sobs. With one hand, I began to gently rub her back, and with the other hand, I reached down and placed it on her small baby bump.

I know that Sally now lived in fear... That she would miscarry the other baby. I had the same fears.

At this point we could both care less about gender or hair color. What mattered was that the baby was healthy. That was our prayer every night. _Just let our baby be okay_.

* * *

It was November now. Sally and I had begun to smile again. Nothing would ever be able comfort the pain of losing a child... But in time, we looked at the blessings of the situation.

_We didn't lose them both. _

_We grew closer. _

_And we took nothing for granted anymore. _

Thanksgiving came, and those were the things we were both thankful for.

...

November twenty-eighth. Sally was just a bit over four months pregnant. It was a quiet morning, when she walked into the room where I was, her face contorted with pain. I rushed to her and held onto to her as she doubled over, hands pressed to her stomach. I asked her what was wrong, to which she replied that it felt like what labor is supposed to feel like. A tear slipped from her eye, and she looked up at me. I could see the fear in her emerald eyes. It was too early for the baby to be born.

Once again, I took her to the hospital. When we arrived, the nurses helped Sally into a hospital bed, and Alice soon arrived. She administered a medication to slow the contractions, in hopes of stopping them.

I sat beside Sally and held her hand after she'd cried out in pain. I asked her what I could do to help her. She shook her head and just held out her hand. That was all she wanted. Me. To be her anchor that she could hold through the waves of pain and fear.

...

Around two in the morning, her contractions finally slowed to a stop. Alice kept her overnight to monitor her and make sure she and the baby were alright, which they were. For now.

We went home, and Sally rested. I made sure that she did.

* * *

December twenty fourth came. Christmas eve. Sally smiled all day. Nothing was going to dampen her spirits. By this time, she was really showing, being five months along. We would lay down beside each other at night and I'd rub her baby bump, and talk to the baby. Each night she and I would sing a lullaby to our unborn child. Yeah, you might think that's a little silly. But to us it wasn't. It was a way to love our baby. And babies in the womb can hear their parents voices and recognize them.

As we laid there on Christmas eve and sang in harmony, the baby kicked its tiny legs for the first time.

* * *

It was one in the morning when Sally woke me up. Her face was calm, but her eyes were panicked.

"Light... I need you to wake up."

I was instantly alert and I sat up. "What's wrong, Sally?"

She took a deep breath. "I'm having contractions again."

She sat beside me on the bed and took a long, deep breath. I took her hand in mine. "How far apart?"

"N-Now about... Ten m-minutes..." She managed through clenched teeth.

I knew I had to stay calm. If I got scared, it would scare her. I helped her to stand, and then I carried her to the car. After helping her into the passenger seat, I got in the driver's seat and placed the keys in the ignition.

As we drove down the road towards the hospital, Sally was striving not to cry. _It was too early. It was too early_.

...

We arrived at the hospital and soon Alice was once again giving Sally a drug to help stop the labor.

But this time it didn't work. Sally was actually in labor this time. I sat beside the bed and stroked her hair as Alice explained the situation. Sally was in labor, but the baby was in the wrong position. To be safe, they were going to deliver the baby via c-section. However, they couldn't do so just yet. Alice told us that it would take about an hour to call in the surgeon this early on Christmas morning and for him to arrive. Sally and I nodded in understanding, and I promised to stay with Sally. Alice smiled and tried to reassure us again, then left, shutting the door with a click. Sally and I waited.

I reached over and stroked her hair when she curled onto her side, pain raging through her. "Shhh... You're doing great." I whispered to her.

After a moment, she turned and looked at me. "Stickers... It's too early..."

I looked at her sympathetically and laced our fingers together. "I know, my love. But... Maybe it'll be okay."

Sally nodded, but tears were filling her eyes yet again. "What did I do wrong...?" She wondered aloud.

I moved from the chair where I was sitting, to the side of her bed. I leaned over and wrapped my arms around her. "Sally, you did not do anything wrong. Stop letting yourself think that. You know that sometimes things happen for no reason." I told her, then hugged her again. "And everything will work out in the end. I promise."

Sally smiled gratefully at me and wrapped her arms around my neck. I wiped away her tears, and kissed her. A moment later, my eyes caught a movement out the window. "Look, Sal." I whispered. "It's snowing."

* * *

An hour and forty-five minutes later, Sally was on the operating table. I sat on a chair beside her head and I held her hand. Our view was blocked from seeing the procedure, but Sally and I were okay with that. She didn't want to see her stomach opened up, and I had no desire to watch them slice my wife open.

I held her hand and she gripped my fingers. I could tell that she was scared. I leaned down and kissed her forehead and smoothed back her hair. She smiled a little.

Soon enough, it was over. The surgeon smiled. "It's a girl." he announced, and held up the baby. The baby was so small it was scary. Her skin almost transparent. She was blue all over.

I heard Sally gasp, but I'm not sure if it was from shock or happiness.

The baby was unmoving. The doctors quickly began to suction her airways. She let out a few high-pitched, squeaky cries and then was quiet again. The doctors rushed from the room with her.

I held Sally's hand tighter as they sewed the incision closed. Then I was told to wait in the waiting room while they moved Sally up to a bed.

As I sat in the chair, a million thoughts ran through my head. I worried for Sally. I worried for my child. My little baby girl. I decided to think of names while I waited. I pulled out my phone and searched the Internet for names. Then I had an idea.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, I was allowed to see Sally. She smiled wearily at me when I entered the room.

"Hey, sweetheart." I said, taking her hand and sitting down. "How are you doing?"

She shrugged. "I'm alright... Have you heard anything? Have you seen her?"

I shook my head. "Not yet, honey."

She nodded, and then we waited. I looked up at her. "Merry Christmas."

She chuckled softly. "That's right. It is Christmas morning. Five am."

I smiled. "When I was seven, I'd be running into my parents room right now, screaming at the top of my lungs, 'Its Christmas! Get up! It's Christmas!' and they'd roll over and say 'go... Make... Coffee..."

Sally laughed. "Same here. I did it up until I was fourteen... Then they got kinda mad. And of course by that time, I cherished sleep anyway, so I stopped."

I shook my head with a laugh. We looked at each other and sighed. Then we waited more.

About an hour later, Alice came in the room. She sat down in a chair and looked at us. There was a moment of tense silence before she spoke. "Well, we've ran tests and checked the baby. She weighs two pounds and three and a half ounces, and she's fourteen inches long. She is on oxygen, and in the NICU." Alice took a breath, then continued. "She's having trouble breathing on her own, because her lungs are just barely developed. There are a few other problems though. Her esophagus isn't all the way developed. She'll need to have a feeding tube. But... The biggest problem is that... The main artery that goes from her heart has a hole in it. We need to operate as soon as possible."

Sally and I were struck with silence. But we knew what we had to do. I looked at Alice. "Okay."

* * *

Surgery was successful. Our little girl made it through. That night, we were allowed to see her. We couldn't hold her, but we could touch her through the incubator after thoroughly washing and sanitizing our hands.

They rolled the incubator up to Sally's room. Sally was in tears as we gazed at our little girl. She was unbelievably small and thin. Her hand was just a little bigger than my thumbnail. She had fiery red hair like mine. Her tiny eyes were closed.

I helped Sally to sit up, seeing as her stomach muscles were weak. Sally slowly reached through the holes in the incubator glass and gently set her hand on the baby's head. She stroked the little tufts of hair.

I reached in and placed my index finger in her tiny hand. Her fingers grasped mine, barely wrapping around it. I smiled at Sally. "She's got a tight grip."

The baby stirred after I spoke. I looked at Sally, knowing she and I had had the same idea. We began to softly sing the lullaby we'd sung to her every night.

_Golden slumbers kiss your eyes,_

_Smiles await you when you rise._

_Sleep, Pretty baby. Do not cry,_

_And I will sing a lullaby._

_Cares you know not, Therefore sleep,_

_While over you a watch I'll keep._

_Sleep, Pretty darling. Do not cry,_

_And I will sing a lullaby._

We sang in harmony. And she recognized our voices. Our little girl blinked twice and then looked up at us. Her eyes were a stunning ocean blue color. Her eyes squinted from the bright lights and she looked back and forth between Sally and I.

I reached into the incubator once again and let her grip my finger. "Hello, sweetheart..." I said in a soft voice.

I smiled at Sally and she smiled back. Our baby was perfect. She was our little Christmas miracle.

* * *

After several surgeries and about a month in the NICU, we got to hold her. Four months later, we brought her home. She's now a healthy, smiling, five year old. Oh yes, and the day after she was born, we settled on a name.

It was Christmas, her birthday. After cake and presents, our little girl climbed up in my lap. "Daddy?"

"Yes, my little Caitlyn Marveille McQueen?" I asked as she snuggled against me and Sally sat beside us.

Caitlyn looked up at me. "Why is my name Caitwyn Marveiwa?" she asked, trying to pronounce it.

I smiled. "Well, Caty-bug, that's because Caitlyn means beautiful."

"And Marveille means miracle." Sally finished.

Caitlyn smiled. "Was I a miracle, daddy?"

I ruffled her curly, red hair. "Yes, you were a miracle."

Sally and I smiled, then finished together. "You were our Christmas miracle."

* * *

Omg, I'm like, sobbing at the sheer adorableness of it.

Please Review. :)


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